Stopping Piracy From The Start

After the Japanese Diet passed a bill two weeks ago to make improperly downloading copyrighted content a criminal offense punishable by prison time, the Recording Industry Association of Japan started pressing for the installation of technology that would automatically block unauthorized uploads.

According to various media reports, the purpose of the technology would be to catch the people illegally uploading or downloading pirated materials.

The RIAJ and other rights groups say they have developed technology that detects such materials even before it goes on to the Internet by “spying” on user connections and comparing uploading data to “digital fingerprints” stored in an external database.

When a match is found the content is automatically blocked. They are asking ISPs to integrate the system into their networks and promoting it as a benefit for them, as ISPs would thus be exempt from any liability for associated copyright infringement.